Brokenness.

After a wonderful spring break at home, and a week largely spent with my parents and my brother—my heart is full. 

Christ broke my heart this week for so many reasons…

            - For my parents;

            - For my Nana and Magran;

            - For my sister;

            - For my church;

            - For my subconscious prideful notion that I know how to serve Him.

But He is not a God of brokenness, guilt, or fear.  He is a God of renewal, peace, and love.  He restored my heart through…

            - The generous hearts of some people I barely know;           

  - My brother’s growing faith and the beginning of his realization of the reason for relationships;

            - Ephesians 2:8-10:

“God saved you by His grace when you believed.  And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.  Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.  For we are God’s masterpiece.  He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago.”  

           

  - And the thirst for Christ that someone I love is finding…nothing is better than seeing that, fyi.  

We have to be broken to be made complete in Jesus.  The lessening of ourselves and the forgiveness of God are the only things that consistently work.  We were not made for sin and brokeness, we were made in the image of the Holy One.   There is more to our purpose than darkness. There is more to our purpose than guilt.  We were made for light and life abundant. 

Someone I love reminded me of the awesomeness of Tenth Avenue North…thought I’d share :)

He has given us so much in this life, all of which is undeserved and underappreciated.  We have so many reasons to praise Jesus.  We are a loved people.